Are these pictures real?

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The caption for the pigs on FB said that they had to be in those cages so they could gain a lot of wait with little food. And then the caption for the cows was that they make them produce too much milk so they are swollen like that.

I know that in some (maybe many) farms they will do crappy things to keep costs down (I worked at one as a kid that did). But I don't like misinformation either. So I'm wondering if you think these images are real?

I have a cousin who ran a dairy farm and his cows NEVER looked like that before milking time! That picture might be a real picture with an inaccurate description. Maybe she's gone too long without being milked. They're supposed to be milked twice a day, that might be a full days' milk in there. Or she might have mastitis or an abscess and that's the exaggerated swelling that goes along with it. Or there could be a mammary tumor. There's any number of things that could cause massive swelling and then an extremist could publish the picture and claim that's the standard and it's abuse.

As far as the pigs, I don't have experience in large scale pig farming, but I've never seen such a thing. I can say that it is not necessary to keep pigs in cages like that for them to gain weight. All you need to do is make sure they lie around a lot and don't spend their time burning off calories. The one farmer I know that has pigs keeps maybe 5 at a time and they're all in the same pen because they're not breeding...It's a little crowded because they're encouraged to just be lazy. The cages in the pictures don't even make any sense. As long as the pigs aren't breeding they won't be spending their time fighting and can be in a pen together. The cages aren't necessary and would be more of a pain in the *** than helpful.

And before anybody starts pointing fingers at the US industrial factory farming businesses, what countries were these pictures taken in? Other countries don't have the same standards as we do for animal care.

Do you have any more information to go along with them?

ETA---I just noticed that the udder of the cow in front of the cow with the engorged udder is normal looking. That makes me more inclined to think the cow that's the focus of the picture has something wrong specifically with her.

I think they are suppose to be in the US. Here is what was said under the cow
"For an animal that would normally produce just one gallon of milk per day for her baby(not up to 15 gallons for the breakfast of some 30 whole families of humans) extreme amounts of hormones are introduced into dairy cows in order to cater to public demand for milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, etc... A dairy cow's udders will bloat well beyond normality, causing severe pain, discomfort and most often, they drag on the ground, leading to sores, as well as infection. Over 50 different antibiotics are used to keep such infections in order. Each serving of dairy that most humans drink, contain these hormones and antibiotics. A legal cubic centimeter of milk is also allowed to contain up to 750,000 animal blood/puss cells and 20,000 living bacteria. This says nothing of the herbicides, pesticides and dioxins which are common in dairy at up to 200 times what is considered to be safe levels. Some of the hormones used to keep cows pumping out milk, such as Insulin-like Growth Factor One(IFG-1), have been scientifically linked to breast, prostate and colon cancer in human consumers. "

And pig "The purpose of the cage is to keep the pig immobile so that they will gain weight quickly, on less feed. Another report stated that these cages were used to transport the pigs. Which I find equally as bazaar. "
I guess the pigs are suppose to be in China and then the person also links to a US video of a pig farm. Haven't watched it though

Ok well hormones aren't as common as they used to be. All 3 grocery stores I shop at, Kroger, WalMart and Food Lion, their store brand milks all have disclaimers on the labels saying that they do not buy from farmers that use hormones on their dairy cows. I don't know about national brands. They are double the price so I never buy them and have never looked at the labels.
Also, I don't know who thinks dairy cows give 15 gallons of milk a day but I call BS on that one. In 2 combined milkings a cow will give about 6 gallons a day. My cousin's dairy farm was in Virginia and was a colder climate, he told me his cows gave him an average of 5 gallons a day.

So to me that sounds like a bunch of hype. And again, look at the cow in front of the cow with the grossly swollen udder, she's just fine. I think the cow that's the focus of the picture has something wrong with her, and just her.

If the pigs are in China, that explains everything. They're not exactly famous for treating animals even remotely humanely. That crap wouldn't fly in the US. And it doesn't even make sense! You can get pigs to gain weight quickly without over feeding even with them in a pen. Those cages have got to be a major PITA.

The amount of milk given per milking depends on a lot of factors including the time of year, breed of cow, number of milkings per day..... but on average the commerical cow will give about 5 gallons per day.

The second one looks like a less industrialised version of intensive pig farming.

I believe there are regulations for intensive pig farming in the US and Canada, in regards to how many hours at a time the pigs can stay in the pens, and it is banned in Europe. It is legal in other countries, however.